# @seed on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/BgCmKU5D2vt
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/34248029-seed-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/faddbc1180.jpg
- **Posted:** 2018-03-07T23:32:48.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Seed (@seed) — https://gondola.cc/seed

## Caption

Many #scientists believe that we can trace our #ancestry 3.7 billion years back to a single-celled #microbe we call #LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor).⠀
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In a 2016 study, scientists at Heinrich Heine University in #Dusseldorf, Germany, examined 6.1 million protein-coding #genes found in simple, single-celled creatures today. Following the #phylogenetic trees for each gene, they identified 355 genes that were probably present in LUCA, essentially creating a #genetic profile of this mysterious #primordial #species.⠀
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What we learned is that LUCA was likely #anaerobic (living without oxygen) and #autotrophic (self-nourishing), and lived deep #underground in iron-sulfur rich #hydrothermal vents, turning the spewed #hydrogen and #carbon-dioxide into #energy.⠀
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LUCA ultimately #evolved into #archaea and #bacteria, and gave rise to #eukaryotes and everything else that followed.⠀
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Source | Pacific Ring of Fire 2004 Expedition. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration; Dr. Bob Embley, NOAA PMEL, Chief Scientist.

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 75
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## Tags

hydrothermal, evolved, ancestry, scientists, autotrophic, anaerobic, carbon, primordial, dusseldorf, phylogenetic, bacteria, microbe, energy, species, hydrogen, archaea, underground, genetic, eukaryotes, genes, luca

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